EZCNN 易英网

The Accidental Movie Star: Johnny Depp 鬼才钱宁戴普

课文朗读

课文讲解

繁體中文譯本

With his stark-white face, untamed mop of jet-black hair, and scissor blades to hands, Johnny Depp warmed the hearts of theater-goers in his breakthrough role as Edward Scissorhands. But this is just one example of the unusual roles for this Hollywood icon. Johnny is by no means an average movie star. To the viewing public, he is the charismatic, eccentric, and mysterious defender of his own artistic integrity.

惨白的脸庞、狂野蓬乱的黑发、一双剪刀手，钱宁戴普在《剪刀手爱德华》的突破性演出，温暖了每位电影观众的心房。但这只是这位好莱坞偶像诠释的其中一个不寻常角色。钱宁绝不是一般的电影明星。对观众来说，他具有魅力、特异、带有神秘气息，并捍卫自己对艺术的坚持。

The superstar’s first love was actually not acting, but music. He dropped out of high school in Kentucky to go to Los Angeles to chase the ever-elusive record deal. But music didn’t pay the bills, and a series of mind-numbing day jobs, such as selling pens over the phone, proved unfulfilling. Then one day, his first wife introduced him to an influential ex-boyfriend – Nicolas Cage. “Why not try acting?” Cage inquired. “Why not?” thought Johnny. He wasn’t sure if he had it in him, but he’d give it a try to see where ingenuity could take him.

这位超级巨星最初爱上的并不是演戏，而是音乐。他自肯塔基州的高中辍学，到洛杉矶寻求很难获得的唱片合约。但搞音乐并无法支付他的账单，而一连串让人麻木的日间工作，像是打电话卖笔之类的，都让他觉得毫无成就感。然后有一天，他的第一任妻子将他引荐给她有影响力的前男友──尼可拉斯凯吉。凯吉问他：「为什么不试试演戏呢？」钱宁心想，「为什么不试呢？」他并不晓得自己是不是有潜力，但是他愿意试试看自己的天份能让他有何成就。

Johnny’s first role was that of a handsome boyfriend in the horror film Nightmare on Elm Street. In it, he meets a grisly ending, but his career was far from dead. Johnny landed a role on the TV series 21 Jump Street – a teen high school drama. But he wasn’t particularly excited about the role, fearing he would be typecast in meaninglessteen-themed films. So he chose to take on smaller roles in films in order to make a name for himself.

钱宁第一个角色是饰演恐怖片《半夜鬼上床》里的英俊男友一角，在这部电影里，他并没有好的下场，不过他的电影事业却蒸蒸日上。在演出几部糟糕的电影后，他获得校园电视剧《少年龙虎队》的演出机会。戴普对这个角色并没有特别兴奋，因为他担心会被定型成只适合演出空洞的高中生主题电影。所以为了让自己出名，他选择接演电影的小角色。

Vocabulary

单词发音

eccentric [ɪkˋsɛntrɪk] adj.（人、行为等）古怪的，反常的

integrity [ɪnˋtɛgrətɪ] n.【正式】完整﹐完全; 正直; 诚实

unfulfilling [͵ʌnfʊlˋfɪlɪŋ] adj. 没有成就感的

influential [͵ɪnflʊˋɛnʃəl] adj. 有影响力的

inquire [ɪnˋkwaɪr] v. 询问

More Information

单词发音

stark [stɑrk] adj. 明显的；突出的

untamed [ʌnˋtemd] adj. 无拘束的

mop [mɑp] n. 蓬乱的头发

jet-black [ˋdʒɛtˋblæk] adj. 黑而发亮的，乌黑的 deep black

by no means 绝不, 一点也不 absolutely not; certainly not

charismatic [͵kærɪzˋmætɪk] adj. 有魅力的；有吸引力的

drop out of something 退出, 辍学, 脱离 to stop doing something

ever-elusive [ˋɛvɚ] [ɪˋlusɪv] adj. 难以捉摸的 alwaysdifficult to catch

mind-numbing [ˋmaɪndnʌmbɪŋ] adj. 令人心烦意乱的，叫人伤透脑筋的

ingenuity [͵ɪndʒəˋnuətɪ] n. 技艺，才能

grisly [ˋgrɪzlɪ] adj. 可怕的

typecast [ˋtaɪp͵kæst] v. 总是给〔演员〕分配同一类型的角色

make a name for oneself 成名; 出名  achieve distinction, become prominent or well known

课文讲解

An extraordinary series of movies followed. He played a small-town boy longing to escape his weird family in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? In keeping with his off-beat choices, he portrayed the widely-acclaimed “worst director ever” in Ed Wood. By then, he had evolved from a seemingly indifferent performer to a master of his craft, and a celebrated and sought-after talent.

一连串的电影角色超乎寻常地接踵而来。电影《恋恋情深》里，他饰演一个渴望逃离自己怪异家庭的小镇男孩。他如同以往接演冷门的角色，在电影《艾得伍德》里，饰演了被评为「有史以来最烂导演」的角色。这个时候，他已从一个看似冷漠的表演者转型成演艺精湛的大师，一位有名、风靡大众的天才演员。

Edward Scissorhands marked not only the beginning of Johnny’s long-time collaboration with director Tim Burton and his vault to stardom, but also the beginning of an acting career that is best described as unconventional, Johnny also worked with Burton on the animated feature, The Corpse Bride, providing the voice of Victor, a character carried away to the realm of the undead to marry a mysterious bride.

《剪刀手爱德华》代表的不只是钱宁与导演提姆波顿长期合作关系的开始，也是他星运亨通的跳板，这部片更意味钱宁开展他特立独行的演艺生涯。钱宁在另类的动画电影《地狱新娘》里再次与波顿合作，为片中人物维克特配音，该角色被带到僵尸国度里迎娶一位谜样新娘。

Today, Johnny takes on roles for an entirely different reason: his kids. Playing Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean, he has made two films that delight the son and daughter he has with French singer Vanessa Paradis. Now they spend much of their time in southern France, where Johnny is free to enjoy life’s simple pleasures without the glare of the American paparazzi. His next film will be the first of two sequels in the life of Jack Sparrow, entitled Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. It looks like there will be a few more spotlights to dodge for this curious, amazing and unconventional actor!

今天，钱宁有了完全不同以往的理由来选择角色：他的孩子。他诠释了《巧克力冒险工厂》里的威利旺卡与《神鬼奇航》里的船长杰克史派洛。他接演这两部片，好取悦他和法国歌手凡尼莎派洛蒂所生的一双儿女。他们现在大多待在法国南部，钱宁在那儿可以自由的享受简单的生活乐趣不受美国狗仔队的虎视眈眈。他的下一部电影是描述杰克史派洛续集的第一集，名称叫做《神鬼奇航2：聚魂棺》。这一位令人好奇、惊讶与特立独行的演员，看来又要闪躲更多镁光灯的追逐了！

−by Joe Henley

Vocabulary

单词发音

acclaimed [əˋklemd] adj. 受到赞扬的

collaboration [kə͵læbəˋreʃən] n. 合作

unconventional [͵ʌnkənˋvɛnʃən!] adj. 不依惯例的; 非常规的

realm [rɛlm] n. 领域；范围

glare [glɛr] n. 引人注目，显眼

More Information

单词发音

long to 渴望

off-beat  adj. 不寻常的 not conforming to an ordinary type or pattern; unconventional

portray [porˋtre] v. 扮演

indifferent [ɪnˋdɪfərənt] adj. 无关紧要的; 冷淡的

craft [kræft] n.（需要手艺的）行业，职业; 同业；行会

sought-after [ˋsɔt͵æftɚ] adj. 广受欢迎的﹐ 吃香的〔但罕有或难得到〕

vault [vɔlt] n.〔尤指以手撑物或撑竿〕跳跃

animated [ˋænə͵metɪd] adj. 卡通（片）的

feature [fitʃɚ] n.（电影的）正片，故事片

carry away 抢走; 冲走; 卷走 to remove forcefully

undead [ʌn'ded] n. 殭尸

paparazzi [ˏpɑpə`rɑtsɪ] n. 追逐名人的（攝影）記者﹐狗仔隊

dodge [dɑdʒ] v. 躲避; 闪避

Reading Questions

1.  What was NOT a factor in Johnny Depp’s decision to try acting?

A.  His music career wasn’t taking off.

B.  Acting was suggested to him by an acquaintance.

C.  He didn’t find his day jobs fulfilling.

D.  It was his lifelong dream to become an actor.

2.  Which of the following is NOT true of Johnny’s early acting career?

A.  He started off with roles in some bad films.

B.  His early roles were Oscar-worthy performances.

C.  He feared he would be repeating the same roles throughout his career.

D.  He decided to take smaller roles to grow as an actor.

3.  The roles that Johnny chooses to portray could best be described as _____.

A.  mainstream and conventional.

B.  commercially viable and bland.

C.  off-beat and extraordinary.

D.  financially rewarding.

4.  What can weinfer about Johnny’s personality from the article?

A.  He craves the spotlight and loves media attention.

B.  He is a reluctant star, but still loves what he does.

C.  He lusts after money and will only take roles for the right price.

D.  He longs to shed his image as an unusual sort of movie star.

Edward Scissorhands Trailer

Nightmare on elm street trailer

21 Jump Street Clips

Gilbert Grape (characters)

see more

Ed Wood - Official Trailer

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory trailer

 Answer